


Destiny and Pancakes

by Merlinsdeheune (sindhunathi)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur likes to cook, Arthur's POV, Fluff, M/M, Merlin doesn't know how, SO MUCH FLUFF, meet cute, not just fluffy pancakes, preslash, remix eligible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5151347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sindhunathi/pseuds/Merlinsdeheune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur has a new neighbour. Based on <a href="http://actionables.tumblr.com/post/132472358529/too-hilarious-actionables-actionables">this tumblr post</a>. </p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny and Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [takingoffmyshoes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/takingoffmyshoes/gifts).



> This is for you Anna. Because you are awesome and sweet and you know, a whole lot of good things. Like pancakes.
> 
> Thank you so much [](http://digthewriter.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://digthewriter.livejournal.com/)**digthewriter** for the incredibly fast beta! You are amazing and I would send you plenty of pancakes if I could. And thank you for helping me pick a title as well! Any mistakes left are all mine.

 

“I know,” Arthur said, for what was probably the hundredth time. When Morgana was ranting it was best to just let her, he thought, wearily scratching at his hair.

 

He was jolted out of his thoughts by his doorbell ringing. That was strange, he wasn’t expecting anyone. Not that anyone visited him other than his sister, who usually didn’t bother ringing the doorbell.

 

It chimed again and Arthur sighed into his phone. “Morgana, someone’s at the door. I need to go,” he said.

 

“Do you really think that excuse is gonna work on me, Arthur?” He heard Morgana asking, but then the doorbell rang a couple more times, one immediately after the other and now it was loud enough that he knew Morgana could hear it too.

 

“Look, I’ll see who it is. It’s probably just someone selling something. I’ll send them away and call you right back alright?” he asked tiredly.

 

Morgana huffed, relenting. “Okay, but don’t think this conversation is over,” she said. Arthur expected nothing less as he mumbled a goodbye and hung up.

 

It had been a long and horrid week, why should his weekend start off any different, he thought. A few things had gone wrong at the office, and according to his father, they were all _his_ fault. They weren’t, he knew, but he was the one who had had to fix it all and now Morgana was at his throat for ‘being Uther’s mindless pawn and jumping to his whims and fancies’.

 

He was so deep in his thoughts, that when he absentmindedly opened the door, he involuntarily took a step back at the sheer force of the beaming smile that greeted him.

 

“Hi. Thank God, I thought no one was home. Can I borrow some eggs?”

 

“What?” Arthur asked dumbly, too caught up in the mouth that formed the smile and the words to actually hear them.

 

“Shit, sorry, that was rude, wasn’t it? I am Merlin, I just moved in across the road. First time living in a house of my own, so I got a little homesick and thought I’d make some pancakes like my mum used to make for us. But I don’t have any eggs, because I just moved in. I am Merlin, did I say that already?”

 

Arthur’s eyes widened in surprise and a bit of amusement as the man before him continued talking, something about a person called Will and ducks and a door? He tuned out again as his eyes wandered from the stranger’s, Merlin’s (so goddamn luscious) mouth to the cheekbones that could probably cut glass, breathtaking eyes to hair that curled every which way, and looked so soft Arthur had to control his hands from reaching out and running his hands through them.

 

Fuck. He was in trouble. Then the words the man, Merlin, had said registered. Well, some of them. He got distracted again by the pair of, what could only be called adorable, ears nestled under the mop of hair.

 

“Eggs?” he asked bewildered.

 

“Yes,” Merlin beamed again. “For pancakes. Also while you are at it, can you give me a quick rundown on how to actually make the pancakes?” he said, looking a little self-deprecating, adorable and a lot mischievous. How on earth had he managed all that?

 

“You don’t know how to make pancakes?” Arthur asked. Goddamnit what was he doing? He didn’t want to alienate the man.

 

“No,” Merlin replied slowly, his mouth shaping itself into a pout and oh dear lord, Arthur was so, so screwed.

 

“Alright,” Arthur said, attempting to sound chivalrous, but he probably sounded condescending judging by the smile that was disappearing from Merlin’s face. That was _not_ what he wanted. He attempted a smile of his own and said “Well, why don’t you come on in, I’ll tell you how to make them while I get you your eggs.”

 

Merlin’s smile came back full force, and Arthur mentally scored himself a point as he led the way to his kitchen.

 

He turned back inquiringly as he heard Merlin let out a low whistle. Merlin was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, eyes scanning over the airy room and the marble countertops.

 

“Wow, this is huge!” Merlin whispered, “It’s like a set from food network.”

 

“Well, I like cooking,” Arthur said. He did, it was what helped him let off steam, calm himself after having to deal with his father or Morgana or, heaven forbid, both of them at the same time.

 

“I can tell,” Merlin said, moving inside and eyeing the jaffle maker critically. “You have all these… equipment.”

 

Arthur smirked to himself as he turned to the (custom made) egg skelter to get the eggs for Merlin, but stopped when he heard Merlin mutter: “I don’t even have a skillet”.

 

“You don’t have a skillet?” he asked incredulously as he turned to face Merlin again, “How were you going to make the pancakes?”

 

“Umm… Microwave?” Merlin asked, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

 

“That’s... you can’t just...” Arthur gaped. “Next you’ll be telling me you make tea in the microwave, too.”

 

“Yeah?” Merlin said, looking anywhere but at him.

 

“WHAT?” Arthur asked, horrified by the sacrilege. “Oh no no no. I am going to teach you to make things the _right_ way,” he said, pulling Merlin over to stand beside him at the counter as he took out the mixing bowl and the necessary ingredients.

 

“Oh you don’t have to! I wouldn’t want to—” Merlin started.

 

“Shut up, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur said and surprisingly, Merlin did. Arthur gave Merlin a smile and returned to the task at hand.

 

He was busy mixing the batter when his phone started ringing which caused Merlin to jump a mile in the air and knock Arthur’s elbow. _When did he get so close? And what was that delightful smell?_

 

The continued ringing of his phone stopped his musings. He turned, coming nose to nose with Merlin and…Oh! the wonderful smell was from Merlin’s hair.

 

Merlin looked flustered and took a step back and said “your phone,” pointing at the thing in question, which was vibrating accusingly from the countertop.

 

“Sorry,” Arthur said, picking up the phone, “It’s just my sister. I had told her I’d call her right back. She won’t stop calling until I pick up.”

 

Merlin nodded understandingly and Arthur turned to leave the room, but stopped and shot Merlin a look. “Don’t eat the batter,” he informed him with a smirk, Merlin seemed the type to do just that.

 

Merlin looked so adorably indignant that Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle as he answered the call.

 

“What’s so funny?” Morgana asked immediately, “And what took you so long?”

 

“No need to sound so needy, Morgana” he answered her sarcastically as he stepped into the living room.

 

“Well, don’t you sound cheerful?! What happened in the last few minutes that brought about the change?”

 

“No one. Nothing!!” Arthur corrected immediately, but he wouldn’t be able to lie to Morgana, so he continued, “My new neighbour wanted some eggs”

 

“Aha! Is he cute?” Morgana demanded gleefully.

 

“Morgana!” Arthur whispered, “Shut up. He is in the next room”

 

“Whoa! Moving fast there, Arthur?” Morgana asked.

 

“What? No!” Arthur answered, annoyed. “He didn’t know how to make pancakes. So…I…uh…I’m teaching him.”

 

“Riiight,” Morgana giggled. “Well, don’t keep your cute neighbour waiting. You’ll be telling me everything later. Ta!”

 

“I never said... Morgana.., ” Arthur started, but she had already hung up. Shaking his head at his sister’s sudden, frankly weird behaviour (Morgana did not _giggle_ ), he walked back into the kitchen and stopped.

 

Merlin was standing by the glass doors to the terrace, framed by the autumn leaves outside and the sunlight filtering in. The sight honestly took Arthur’s breath away. Annoyed at himself for being so clichéd (he’d literally _just_ met the guy and now he was halfway to composing sonnets? _What the fuck?_ ), Arthur cleared his throat.

 

Merlin turned around beaming and asked “Pancakes?” and no, that did not just make Arthur’s heart beat faster.

 

“Pancakes,” he replied hoarsely, walking back to the mixing bowl with Merlin following him like an excited child.

 

****

 

“So?” Morgana asked him without a preamble when she called him later in the afternoon.

 

“So what?” Arthur asked.

 

“So... Your cute pancake loving neighbour! Tell me about him,” she insisted.

 

“Well…” Arthur started, an unwitting smile forming on his face. “He now knows how to make pancakes.”

 

“Anything else he now knows?” Morgana asked and Arthur could practically hear her smirking. Strangely, that did nothing to abate his smile.

 

“My number,” he replied nonchalantly and hung up on Morgana’s squeal, his smile growing even bigger. He wasn’t going to tell her that he also had a date with Merlin, one that didn’t involve breakfast, well, not just _yet_. He didn’t want her neighbours to call the police if she’d actually started screaming.

 

****

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I meant to write more Merlin and Arthur being cutesy together scenes, but stuff happened irl as I was writing this and I couldn’t do it. :(  
> Maybe I’ll write a remix later, from Merlin’s POV, because I believe Merlin got exactly what he wanted, and I don’t mean the pancakes.


End file.
